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Chapter Text

SCOTUS Orders that Spider Society Be Disbanded

By Eddie Brock 

Updated 4:05 pm EDT, July 1, 2104

Washington (AP) – The Supreme Court today declared the Spider Society to be a criminal organization and cult, and that it was to be dissolved immediately.

In an opinion signed by the other eight justices, Chief Justice Elena O'Connor wrote, "As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.  Yet, through its many crimes and misdeeds, the Spider Society has proven that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Although it had great potential for good, it has proven itself to be a menace to its members, and to society as a whole.  So, it is the opinion of this Court that it needs to be shut down, as soon as possible."

From his cell at The Raft, cult leader and former Alchemax CEO Miguel O'Hara issued a statement saying, "In today's ruling, the Supreme Court has endangered the Arachno-humanoid poly-multiverse.  As a result, anomalies will continue to spread unchecked, causing each universe to collapse until everything is gone.  I urge the justices to reverse their decision immediately and for the governor and president to pardon me and my associates, so that we can continue to defend the Multiverse."

Other imprisoned leaders of that cult, including its former education director Jessica Drew, made similar statements.  

However, the White House said that the president had rejected O'Hara's pardon request, with the press secretary's office issuing a statement saying, "The evidence demonstrates that Miguel O'Hara and his associates pose a clear and present danger to society if they are released from prison at this time, so none of them will be receiving a federal pardons."

The governor's office issued a press release that said, "Miguel O'Hara, Jessica Drew, and others with the Spider Society have proven themselves to be a menace, and that granting them pardons would not be in the best interest of this state's citizens."

The ruling, which upholds the one issued in November 2103 by the New York Court of Appeals, brings to a close a near five-year saga.

It began on September 11th, 2099, when passengers on the afternoon Luna Train described O'Hara allegedly assaulting a teenage boy, with thousands of his followers in pursuit of this youth.  A few days later, though, Nueva York Metropolitan Transit Authority officials declared that it had been an unannounced Spider Society training mission and that the matter was considered closed.  Meanwhile, many eyewitnesses retracted their statements, while saying that they had probably been misremembering things.  

However, photos told a different story, with them showing significant damage to the train's roof, including claw marks, holes in the roof, and multiple indentations believed to have resulted from a human-sized object being slammed into it at high speed.  As well, security footage obtained as the result of a transit court ruling showed a man matching O'Hara's description repeatedly assaulting a teenage boy who had been trying to get away, but who had managed to escape after the leader's suit malfunctioned and flung him off the train.

Meanwhile, anonymous sources, including one who went by the name "Ghost Spider" and another identified as "Spider Punk," confirmed that the incident in question had happened, while others, including "Spider Dad," hinted at questionable financial activities.  Further investigation confirmed this along with how the Spider Society had apparently been working with the Nueva York city government to use its spider bots to spy on multiple media organizations, which ultimately led to a number of city employees being fired and prosecuted.

The next big break involved a source who chose to go by "Spider Byte" revealing the existence of LYLA, an AI chatbot designed by O'Hara that was allegedly collecting information from these spider bots, and which had all of the records for this organization.  The State of New York requested access, and the Spider Society released written transcripts of the ones that had been asked for.  However, investigators found that some information was missing, so they sued to gain copies of LYLA's records.  These were surrendered after the New York Court of Appeals ordered them to, but there were still a number of gaps.  The state appealed, and the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the organization to release all the information that had been demanded.

And, it did.

In the meantime, various press outlets including The Daily Bugle had continued investigating, as they revealed the Spider Society's relationship with Alchemax, along with how that company had used its support for O'Hara's organization to reduce its tax bill.  

In response, spokespeople for O'Hara continued issuing non-denial denials in response to articles that The Daily Bugle and other media outlets published on the unfolding story.  However, both the IRS and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance opened an investigation.

Over the next few months, the Associated Press and other national news outlets picked up the story, followed by Reuters, AFP, the BBC, and different international ones.  Soon after, various subcommittees of the New York State legislature, United States House of Representatives, and the United States Senate began looking into it.  

Meanwhile, even more of the Spider Society's secrets were revealed, such as its members' belief in the existence of a "canon," the importance of preserving "canon events," the danger posed by "anomalies," and the existence of a sinister "Original Anomaly," which the organization claimed to be fighting against, among many others.

As well, numerous unexplained payments to past and present officials in Nueva York's government were revealed, including to the mayor, multiple city council members, numerous New York state legislators, the governor, both of New York's senators, and four Congressional representatives from Nueva York.  And, it was shown that they had sponsored and helped pass legislation that gave the Spider Society increased legal cover for its activities.

Indictments were issued and multiple politicians' careers were ended, while the Spider Society itself faced the likelihood of a multi-billion dollar fine, owing to underpayment of taxes dating back years. 

Then came the discovery of the Journal. 

Ghost Spider revealed to the Daily Bugle that a former member of the Spider Society had kept a detailed diary during their time there, which outlined the organization's practices and which allegedly proved that it was a cult.  Several former members of its custodial staff, meanwhile, confirmed its existence, while former agents corroborated what was allegedly in this document.

Though O'Hara, Drew, and their spokespeople issued non-denial denials, the State of New York demanded that the Spider Society release this document, and that it be unedited and unchanged.  More lawsuits followed, until the New York Court of Appeals ordered it to do that in October 2102, after which it complied.

In response, the New York State Attorney General's office opened an investigation into the Spider Society, with the United States Department of Justice following suit.  And, after interviewing a number of witnesses over the next few months, including different people who had been part of the organization, they indicted Miguel O'Hara, Jessica Drew, and other leaders of this organization.  Two months later, they were put on trial and, several weeks later, were found guilty of dozens of crimes, including vigilantism, forced labor, child labor, and child endangerment.  Afterwards, each of them was sentenced to life in prison at the Raft.  

A few days later, the State of New York ordered that that organization be shut down.  It appealed, but the New York Court of Appeals ruled that it be dissolved.  Though it appealed again, the United States Supreme Court upheld that court's judicial opinion, thereby ending the Spider Society.

Eddie Brock covers city news for The Daily Bugle, and has been reporting on this story since 2099.

Chapter Text

Setting the paper down, Eddie Brock smiled.  It had been a lot of work that had required more than a few late nights, weekends spent working rather than relaxing, and dealing with the pressure of knowing that O'Hara had been watching him like a hawk while waiting for him to make a mistake, yet it was done. 

Then, glancing first at his two Pulitzer prizes and then at the list of job offers by different national media outlets and The Daily Bugle's new contract offer, he had to admit that it had worked out for him.  But, best of all, he had served the public.

Taking another look around the newsroom, he took a sip of his coffee while thinking back to the day it had all begun.  

He had arrived at his desk at The Daily Bugle at 9 am on September 17, 2099, wondering what he would be covering today.  Maybe a Manhattan borough council meeting?  Or, perhaps it would be another Public Works Committee session?  Or, he thought, it might involve reporting on that new housing development in Chelsea.  It wasn't exactly what he had pictured his career being while he'd been in college, but he'd only graduated a few months ago and still had to pay his dues.  

Then again, any of those would be better than attending another Nueva York Mass Transit Authority press conference, what with them always lasting for hours, and the press secretary always going on and on while speaking in a monotone.  Afterwards, Eddie and the other journalists would always joke that they made watching paint dry seem exciting by comparison, that they were clearly a cure for insomnia.  And, every time he saw he had another one to go to, he would sigh while telling himself that it was proof that even journalists had to deal with hazing. 

Thankfully, though, they were always on the first Monday of every month, so at least it wouldn't be one of those.

However, he had frowned while reading the email from J. Jonah Jameson, telling him that he would be going to a special NYMTA press conference at 2 pm.  Groaning while wondering what he had done to piss off his editor, he had nevertheless gone online to look at its agenda.  And, his curiosity had been piqued after reading that it was on the Luna Train incident that had happened a few days ago.  He definitely remembered that; along with everyone else in the newsroom, he had been riveted while watching highlights from it, and how it had looked like it might have come from some action movie rather than real life.  Granted, it had been odd that so many Spider Society agents had been involved, but he had figured that it was probably another one of their activities, and that it would probably remain classified.  Afterwards, he had gone back to his desk to work on a different story, and hadn't thought about it since. 

Yet, it had clearly been a big enough deal that the NYMTA itself was issuing a statement.  

Now feeling genuinely curious about it, he logged into The Daily Bugle's cloud server to read through notes that others had taken from that incident.  And, as he had done so, he had found himself wondering just what had been going on: Numerous witnesses had talked about how it had seemed like the entire Spider Society was there, and that apparently even Miguel O'Hara himself had taken part.  On top of that, a number of them had said that they had all been going after some teenage boy who had been trying to escape, and that it had gotten violent—to the point where the train itself had been taken out of commission by the NYMTA, to fix damage that it had sustained. 

Granted, they had all ended up recanting their statements by claiming that they must have had memory issues or something, so it had all blown over.  But, even though he had been sure that this was probably just more top secret Spider Society business that wasn't that big of a deal, there were some things about this incident that just didn't add up.  So, after taking some notes, he had jotted down some questions to ask.  

Arriving at the NYMTA headquarters a few minutes early, he had gone to the same room that he always spent several interminable hours in every month.  And, walking in, he had involuntarily sighed while looking around.  There were those same white walls, the lectern at the front with the organization's great seal on it, the American flag and the New York state flag on either side of it, and pictures on the other walls showing some of that organization's successes, highlighted by the Luna Train's ribbon-cutting ceremony.  

The door in the back corner opposite from him was still closed, while the press secretary was nowhere to be seen.  Meanwhile, the other correspondents were quietly sitting in their usual seats while facing the empty podium, bored expressions covering their faces.  Going to where he normally sat, Eddie then took out his notepad and pen, before reading through the questions he wanted to ask. 

Then, looking around the room, he repeated the other reporters' names to himself.  There was Ida, Edward, Lois, Walter, Nellie, Marguerite, Bob, Carl, Maria, Peter, and–

–who was that guy? 

Sitting on the opposite side of the room apart from everyone else was one he'd never seen before.  He was Black and had thick black hair, while wearing a red shirt, a leather vest, blue jeans, and boots.  Odd he wasn't dressed any more formally, Eddie thought, before shrugging his shoulders.  For all he knew, he was with some alternative weekly or hyperlocal paper, and had been assigned to come here.  That said, he was the first new person he had seen here, so he made a mental note to talk to him afterwards. 

Just then, he heard the door in front open and then close, so he turned and faced the front.  It was the press secretary.  The man then walked up to the journalist closest to him and handed her several pieces of paper, after which she took one and handed it to the next.  Receiving his copy a moment later, Eddie skimmed it.  There was today's date and when this incident had taken place, a summary of what had happened, a written apology by O'Hara, and a statement by the NYMTA explaining that they considered the matter closed.  But, glancing at his notepad, he didn't see any answers to what he wanted to ask.  Frowning, he looked up again while waiting.

Standing at the lectern, the spokesman said, "As you can see, on September 11th the Spider Society carried out an unannounced mass training activity.  It started out at Spider HQ, continued on to underground Interstate 95, and then proceeded to the afternoon Luna Train.  In the process, several cars on it were damaged and had to be repaired, but they are now back in service.  The society has paid for it in full, while Chief Defender O'Hara has apologized for the inconvenience his agents caused.  Further information on this can be found in the press release."

Which is exactly what your handout said, Eddie thought, before raising his right hand. 

The speaker sighed before saying, "Go ahead, Mr. Brock."

Taking in the other reporters' stares - including the new guy's - he said, "According to news reports that day, there were a couple thousand Spider Society operatives who took part, including Miguel O'Hara himself, and that they were pursuing a teenage boy.  So, what's the deal with this?"

In response, the press secretary studied him closely for a long moment, while it felt like the room itself grew slightly colder.  Then, he stated, "As I said, further information on this can be found in the press release I just gave you." 

Feeling a bit irritated, Eddie said, "But it includes nothing on what I just asked."

Sighing, the speaker said, "I understand, but the Spider Society considers this matter closed, so I will not be taking any further questions."  

Now confused, Brock said, "The Spider Society? What about the NYMTA?"

However, the spokesman abruptly turned and left the room without answering him.

Frowning, Eddie jotted the speaker's answer down before getting up and following the last of the journalists - the new guy, he reminded himself - out of the room.  As he went down the hallways and then the stairs, he mentally went over the interview, while wondering why they weren't getting any more information.  But, remembering the press secretary's words, he figured it wouldn't hurt to get in touch with someone at the Spider Society to try and follow up on this.

Noticing someone turning just ahead of him, though, he looked up and saw that the new reporter had left the stairs but was just standing there and looking at the ground, like he was thinking.  Wondering if he wanted to talk, Eddie took a step closer to him when the new guy nodded once at him before turning and heading down that hallway until he was out of sight.  Feeling a bit bewildered but figuring that he probably had some interview here today, Eddie turned around and continued down the stairs. 

Getting outside a couple of minutes later, he noticed the other reporters standing in a group talking to each other, as he caught snippets of their discussions: "Could have just sent an email," "Waste of time," "something funny with this," "good question," "typical Spider Society BS," "nothing to see here, move along," and "another unsolved mystery featuring Miguel O'Hara." 

However, Peter had looked at him for a long moment before saying, "You're new here, Eddie, so here's a word of advice: Don't ever ask any questions about what the Spider Society is up to.  And, above all, don't ever contact them to follow up on some incident involving them."

At that, and frowning in confusion, Brock had asked why.  

In response, the journalist had said, "For starters, none of us ever get answers to them.  Also, shortly before you started, one of the reporters from the World.who regularly asked a lot of questions quit coming, and we found out he'd gotten canned.  That paper said that he had not done well enough, but we all figured that O'Hara had had something to do with it."

Now feeling a bit tense, Eddie nodded once and thanked him before heading back to the subway station to return to work.  Yet, sitting at his desk an hour later while looking at the blank page on his computer screen, he had sighed in frustration - he was a reporter and was paid to ask questions, so why was this a problem for the Spider Society? - before writing a summary of the meeting while making sure to type out the press release.  Then, after going over it a few times, he had submitted it before proofreading with someone else had written and then going to a staff meeting to discuss tomorrow's paper and assignments for future articles.

But, after work, things had gotten a bit unsettling.

Smiling while enjoying the early evening sun and nice breeze, he had gone to Central Park to walk around for a bit before heading home.  However, a few minutes after getting there, he had noticed a Spider-Man in a blue shirt and a leather vest approaching, with a Spider-Woman wearing a mostly-black super suit with white arms, shoulders, a hood, and a mask walking alongside him.  Stopping while feeling his muscles grow tense as his breathing sped up, he thought about Peter's warning.  And, they both looked like Spider Society agents.  Now wanting to be anywhere but here, he scanned his surroundings while trying to figure out what to say so as to help things blow over.

When they got to within a few feet of him, though, she stopped and said, "Is that the one?"

Speaking with a cockney accent, the man said, "That's the one."

Looking at him, the woman nodded while seeing, "Good evening, Mr. Brock."

Now worried and feeling like his heart was beating faster - they knew his name! - he asked her who she was while trying to hide the nervousness that he felt.

In response, she answered his question by saying, "Ghost Spider will do.  My colleague told me that you work for The Daily Bugle, and that you were asking questions about the Spider Society but hadn't gotten any answers."

His eyes frantically scanning his environment to try and see if any others were there, he nervously said, "Yeah, but the press release had the information I needed.  And, I'll definitely remember this the next time there is a conference involving the Spider Society."

The two spider people both froze before looking at each other for a long moment.  Then, and using what sounded like a reassuring tone in her voice, she said, "We were both in it and know its secrets, and we want to help you expose them to the world."

They are trying to trap me, he thought while staring at her for a long moment.  Then, figuring he needed to see whatever this was to its conclusion, he said, "Why?"

Taking a deep breath, she quietly stated, "Because being part of the Spider Society cost me a lot, and I want other people to know the truth about it so that no one else will ever be hurt like I was."

Sounds like a convenient cover story, he thought while looking at her.  Then, trying to avoid sounding too skeptical, he said, "I'm sorry to hear that.  That said, and begging your pardon, how do I know that you're telling me the truth?"

In response, she stared at him for a long moment before looking at her friend, who nodded once.  At that, she said, "Because I got kicked out about a week ago."

She looked at the ground like she was thinking.  Then, a moment later, the man told him, "I was also a member but quit around the same time.  As well, I was at that press conference today, and you were the only one with the balls to ask any questions.  I respect that in a man."

Now remembering, Eddie looked at him closely.  He did look like he had the same height and build, he thought, but he might be a Spider Society agent.  Then, he said, "So, you were the new guy!"

The other man nodded and said, "Yep.  And, you can call me Spider Punk."

At that, the young woman looked at him and said, "We can help you, and we know a few other people who would be willing to tell you things that this organization would like to keep secret.  But, are you willing to expose them?"

It sounds like they're trying to turn me into an example, he thought.  But, wishing to be diplomatic, he told them, "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth about what I'm reporting.  But, with all due respect, I'm a bit skeptical.  I mean, you're both spider people, so how do I know that you're not working for O'Hara and aren't simply trying to do something bad to me?"

With a slight quaking in her voice, she responded, "Miguel and a lot of his followers did pursue a teenage boy on the Luna Train that day, and then he brutally assaulted him.  I'm sorry to say that I was one of them, and also that I watched the whole thing rather than helping the victim.  And it was one of the worst experiences of my life, because I lost a friend."

Falling silent a moment later, she looked down and he heard quite sobbing, before her friend put his right arm around her shoulders.  Feeling badly for her, he then reminded himself that maybe she was just a good actor and was trying to manipulate him.  Even so, he told himself that he should probably play along. 

At that, he quietly said, "I'm sorry for your loss."

She quietly nodded, after which Spider Punk said, "I understand your skepticism, so let me show you something that might help."

At that, he extended his left arm and Eddie noticed his web watch for the first time.  Feeling mildly curious, he looked at it closely: It had multiple colors and a band that was covered by spikes, while its face looked like a flat screen TV, with the words, "Project Bootleg" on it, and "928," latitude and longitude, and the time and date below it.  However, it looked bulkier than a typical smartwatch.  

Furrowing his brows while trying to figure out what was up, he nodded at the Spider-Man, who then said, "It is different from Spider Society devices, and it can't be tracked by them.  I made it myself, while one of my colleagues designed the operating system.  Also, and for what it's worth, I was the guy who fixed their web watches until I quit."

Now looking at him, Ghost Spider then wordlessly extended her right arm so he had looked at her device.  And, looked identical to the first. 

It was definitely interesting, he thought, even though he had never seen one of those up close before.  And, with that, he reminded himself that this was probably a trap.  So, wanting to be diplomatic, he gave them both a nod before saying, "Thanks for the heads up on this, and I will definitely look into it." 

In response, Spider Punk sighed and said, "If you are okay with the official story, then go with that press release.  But, if you want to know what really happened that day, find video footage of the incident and try to get photos showing damage to the train.  I'm pretty sure that the Spider Society doesn't want any of that to be released, so you might need a court order to get hold of them."

Bait, he told himself.  However, he was definitely curious about it, so, nodding at him, he said, "I'll bear that in mind. But, assuming your story checks out, how can I get in touch with you again?"

In response, Ghost Spider said, "If you publish an article on these findings, we'll see it and will get in touch with you."

At that, the two spider people turned around and walked away.

Chapter Text

Standing there, he had breathed a sigh of relief while feeling like he had dodged a bullet.  They were probably Spider Society agents trying to trap him, he reminded himself, and were undoubtedly trained for this sort of thing.  And, that woman, in particular, had sounded genuinely hurt, to the point where he would have believed her if he hadn't known better.  Clearly, she was a talented actor, in addition to being good at what she did.

Remembering Peter's warning, he smiled while telling himself he had avoided whatever trap O'Hara had set for him!  And, he was set to continue his career, as he would gradually get to report on better and better stories– 

–Except, what about their web watches?

Until today, he had never seen one up close, so he only had their word to take for it.  Still, what they had said about them had definitely piqued his interest.  It was probably nothing, but he figured it wouldn't hurt anything to check on it. 

So, on his next day off, he had gone to the Spider Society Museum.  Looking at the open sign hanging on the door, he shook his head while telling himself he was about to waste a couple of hours on the kind of late September day that was not to be taken lightly.  On the other hand, their website hadn't had any clear pictures of their web watches, and the ones he had seen through doing image search had all looked different from each other, with more than a few looking like props from some movie.  Thus, he was here.  Exhaling, he had told himself that all he had to do was take a quick look at those devices, to see how they compared with what those two spider people had shown him, and then he could leave. That was it.  

But, looking up at the imposing building the Spider Society called home, he felt himself shrink inward slightly before reminding himself that he was just a private citizen visiting a museum.  So, breathing in and out, he had opened the door and stepped inside.

Instead of going forward, though, he had just stood there, staring.  This place was huge!  There were literally hundreds of exhibits and lots of photos here, while this room looked bigger than a supermarket!  Frowning while feeling his anxiety building, he picked up a brochure and scanned it.  Finally finding the web watch exhibit clear in the back, he breathed a sigh of relief.  He would have to take a long and winding path past lots of other things to get there, but at least he knew where it was.

And, with that, he had started.  Yet, in spite of not wanting to spend any more time here than he needed to, he had ended up looking at some of the other exhibits.  There were pictures of Spider HQ, along with portraits of Chief Defender Miguel O'Hara, Education Director Jessica Drew, and various other Spider Society bigwigs close to the front.  Next to it was a model of their training facilities, with Drew describing in detail how vital the Chief Defender's guidance had been in designing them.  Past it had been an exhaustively detailed series of exhibits on their history, with it having a special focus on the role O'Hara had played with it.  Then, there was a timeline showing a number of their big successes, in particular taking down the Sinister Six last year and how the Chief Defender himself had single-handedly delivered them to the police force.  Beyond were posters and other exhibits demonstrating each agent's training regimen, group photos, pictures of O'Hara speaking to operatives who were looking at him with awe and admiration in their eyes, the Chief Defender standing in front of some circular machine with a cylinder above it while wearing a big smile, and blah blah blah…

Stopping and frowning, he shook his head.  This whole place was propaganda central!  It was all about how amazing and awesome the Spider Society was, and how O'Hara was a man among men, all delivered in mind-numbingly boring detail!  This shocking museum was nothing but a monument to that man's vast ego!  And, glancing at his own watch, he sighed as he thought of how much time he had wasted here and what else he could have done with his time.   

But, he had come this far, he told himself, and he might as well go the rest of the way.  At that, while reminding himself that he could leave as soon as he looked at their web devices, he continued on until he got to where they were.  And, standing in front of a case that was filled with them, he looked at them closely while furrowing his brows.  Unlike the ones those two spider people had shown him, these all looked like thick, gray bracelets with triangular faces and a single red button next to them, while each was sleek and futuristic.  So, Spider Punk had told him the truth.  On the other hand, he reminded himself, perhaps it was all part of some stupidly elaborate trap O'Hara had prepared for overly nosy reporters.

Regardless, though, this was odd.  So, wanting to double check it, he looked around before noticing an agent in a red and blue super suit standing nearby.  With that, he went to him.  After saying hello, he gestured at the web watches before saying that they looked really neat.  

Beaming, the man that said, "They are!  In fact, they are absolutely incredible technology, and we are proud to use them on our missions."

Glancing at the operative's left wrist and noticing him wearing one, Eddie said, "And, you're lucky enough to get one, too!  Mind if I look at it?"

Agreeing, the man had raised his arm, and Eddie had taken a close look at it.  Its face was yellow, with the characters "E 928" clearly visible on it.  Lowering his arm a moment later, the agent eagerly said, "It can also show the latitude and longitude, what time it is, and today's date, among many other things!"

Nodding while wanting to check on what Spider Punk told him about fixing them, Eddie said, "It's just too bad that I can't have one, because they seem amazing.  And, I'd bet that they're so good they last forever."

In response, the operative said, "They hold up really well, and I've had mine for over a year.  Unfortunately, they do sometimes quit working for whatever reason.  We used to have someone here who fixed them, but he quit recently, so we just have to get new ones instead.  It sucks, but at least they're easy to make."

Now feeling like he had received a clue, he thanked the agent and then looked at that exhibit again before leaving.  And, drinking coffee at his table a half hour later, he went over everything he had seen before admitting that Spider Punk had told him the truth about those two things.  So, he thought, maybe it would be worthwhile to look into the rest of Ghost Spider's story.  Carefully, of course, but it definitely deserved a closer look. 

So, the next time he had gotten to work, he had sent an email to his editor requesting an appointment.  Sitting on the other side of his desk an hour later, he said, "I still have some questions about that Luna Train incident which the press release didn't answer, so I would like to know if there are any photos of the damage or security footage showing what happened."

1. Jonah Jameson had looked at him for a long moment before saying, "We've tried getting access to things involving the Spider Society in the past, but we've always failed because they say they are classified."

Suddenly feeling a bit more determined than before, Eddie said, "Well, the Luna Train is public transit and O'Hara's organization has no say in what they do.  So, let's try again, and maybe see if some court can help us out with it this time." 

After a long moment, his editor had agreed.  And, a couple of weeks and an NYMTA Transit Court ruling later, they had finally gained access to what he had requested.  

Watching it later that day, he had seen for himself that, rather than it being just a training mission, it really had been O'Hara and thousands of agents pursuing a single Spider-Man, with the entire horde on that train looking more than a bit like an army of ants climbing a tree.  Not only that, but even though there had been no sound, it had been clear that the leader had been absolutely furious while viciously and repeatedly attacking the target, while the other guy had been desperately trying to get away.  And, he had silently cheered when the Chief Defender's suit had malfunctioned and the target had escaped.

Yet, looking closely at his prey, his eyes had widened as he had been struck with the realization that their target was just a teenage boy, one with thick and curly black hair.  And, taking in his black suit with red stripes going down each side along with a red spider on the chest, he shook his head while telling himself that, if he had seen someone dressed up like that on Halloween, he would have assumed he was going trick or treating.

Then, he looked at the photos.  There were deep gouges and claw marks across the tops of several cars, along with several deep indentations that the video had shown were the result of O'Hara repeatedly slamming that boy into it.  And, rewatching the video footage, he had found himself asking what the leader would have done to that youth if he had caught him.  And, feeling a shudder, he realized that he did not want to know the answer.  

Watching the whole thing yet again, he shook his head while feeling a wave of disgust at what the Chief Defender and his minions had done.  It was now clear that, for some strange reason, the Spider Society had lied—and, though he couldn't prove it, O'Hara probably knew.  And, that meant that both Ghost Spider and Spider Punk had been telling him the truth all along.  Of course, this whole thing might well have been part of some ridiculously complex trap the Chief Defender had set for him, to make him into an example–

–but why?, he asked himself.  He was just some nobody who had asked a couple of questions at a press conference, so why would O'Hara go to all this trouble to get him fired?  It made no sense!

At that, he found himself wondering which was more likely: That this was part of some Spider Society plot, or that Ghost Spider and Spider Punk had been telling him the truth all along? 

Taking a deep breath as he realized the answer, he looked at one of the still images while reminding himself that there was a story here.  Granted, it wasn't very big - it was a single incident that had already been dealt with, and would probably be buried somewhere deep in The Daily Bugle, if Jameson even approved it - and, within a week, it would be forgotten.

But, he suddenly asked himself, what about O'Hara?  Remembering the warning Peter had given him, he reminded himself that, if he did this, the Chief Defender would likely find out, and he was a bit nervous about what he might do in response.  Maybe he would let it slide, he told himself, but what if he didn't?  And, what if this turned him into some sort of martyr?  Or–

–Yet, why was he freaking out?  This was something small and probably not worthy of O'Hara's attention.  Still…

Not sure what to do, he rewatched the video.  And, this time, he noticed a young woman wearing Ghost Spider's uniform climbing the side of the train a couple hundred feet below O'Hara and the Spider-Man he'd been attacking, only she had taken her mask and hood off.  She had blue eyes and blonde hair, with a side cut on the right side of her head, and she looked young, like she belonged in high school.  Yet, she was paying very close attention to what was happening, while occasionally shouting something at the combatants.  

Meanwhile, next to her was a middle-aged man with brown hair in a red Spider-Man suit who had an infant in a Baby Bjorn–

–a baby? 

This was definitely strange, he thought, especially with how high up they were.  On the other hand, neither the man nor his child had been involved in the fighting, so he wasn't sure it was worth mentioning.

He continued watching those two, and noticed them get really uncomfortable looks on their faces right after O'Hara had briefly stopped assaulting the boy.  A moment later, after the Chief Defender's suit malfunctioned, he saw the young man drop off at the end and just disappear, while the Spider-Woman wore a stricken expression on her face.

With the screen turning gray a moment later, Eddie sat there for a long moment before it hit him: She wasn't some spy who was an unusually good actor, but had been telling him the truth.  Feeling guilty for doubting her, he decided then and there that he would write this story, if for no other reason than that it might help make her feel better.  

Watching the video again and seeing the thousands of agents climbing the train's side, though, he frowned while feeling confused, before admitting that he had no idea why they had been doing that, let alone why O'Hara had been so angry.  And, though he figured the Chief Defender had known his spokesperson was lying, he couldn't prove it.  So, there wasn't much he could cover.  Reading through his notes, though, he breathed a sigh of relief: He could describe what had happened, which was something.  

So, after writing a news story about it and cleaning it up, he had submitted it.  Reading Jameson's email an hour later, he smiled.  It was going to be in tomorrow's paper!  Granted, it would be on page four of the local news section and not many people would see it, let alone read it, but it was an actual article on a real news topic—and was the first one he had been able to do since college.  At that, he smiled, even as he reminded himself that no one would care about it.

But, he had been wrong. 

First had come the special NYMTA press conference the following afternoon in which the press secretary had declared that they were opening an investigation into that incident.  After the spokesman finished, a spokeswoman for the Spider Society came out and said that that chase had been an unusually intense training session to practice catching a criminal, that they regretted the damage they had caused, and that they would work to notify the NYMTA about them in advance going forward.  She had concluded by thanking The Daily Bugle for reporting on this, while saying it was good that there were still journalists who were willing to get to the bottom of things.

Feeling a sense of disbelief that his little article had done this much, he had met with Jameson afterwards.  And, after talking for a few minutes, they had both concluded that it had probably struck a nerve with someone at the Spider Society, and that it might not hurt to follow up on it in the near future.

Then, the following morning, things had gotten weird. 

He had picked up his copy of The Nueva York Times and had taken it to the table to read it over breakfast when he had heard something hit the floor.  Feeling curious, he looked down and saw an envelope addressed to him.  Opening it, he saw Ghost Spider had written a letter stating that, since he had kept his part of the deal, she and Spider Punk would keep theirs.  She had then written the address of a certain parking garage with 1 am the next day under it, though she had also emphasized that he should take two taxis. 

Feeling like he was in class and the teacher had just announced a pop quiz, he felt nervous while wondering about the whole cloak and dagger nature of this.  What on Earth had he gotten himself into?  Then, remembering the questions he had asked himself while watching the video, he admitted that there was probably more to this story than what he had reported.  And, now it was time to go further and see just how deep it went.

So, at 1 am, he had arrived at the designated parking garage.  And, less than a minute later, she, Spider Punk, and the middle-aged Spider-Man he had seen in the video had stepped out of the shadows.  However, he noticed that, this time, he had not brought his daughter with him.  

Ghost Spider looked at him with interest for a long moment before saying, "I see that you believe us now."

Feeling his shoulders slump, he said, "I do.  I'm very sorry for doubting you, but I had to make sure.  And, in the future I'll trust you.  Also, thanks for the lead; because of it, I was able to get some answers."

Spider Punk looked at him for a long moment before saying, "Sorry about the spy thriller nature of this meeting.  We had to take precautions, because we figured that Miguel's goons would be following you, and they can be persistent, but we're pretty sure that you lost them."

Now feeling a bit unsettled, he asked why, and Ghost Spider had said, "Although you've barely scratched the surface, you popped up on Miguel's radar screen with your story, because he doesn't like it when people ask those kinds of questions of him.  So, he's going to be watching you closely, because you've just caught him in a lie, and he knows it.  Now, if you choose to stop here, it'll all end in a few weeks, and your life will return to normal.  But, if you decide to continue, he will do so as well, while your whole life will change.  Also, at least for the time being, you'll probably be the only one reporting on it.  Not only that, but doing this means you will make Miguel very unhappy, so he will probably pressure The Daily Bugle to drop this investigation."

Now feeling more tense while remembering Peter's warning, Eddie looked at her for a long moment before he said, "So, why should I continue pursuing this story?"

Taking a deep breath, she stated, "Because the truth about this organization needs to be exposed for the world to see, so that it can be brought to justice."

At that, he looked at the ground as he went over what she had said.  They had already told him the truth, so he had no reason to doubt them.  That, and it was clear that there was definitely more to the story than he had first thought, to say nothing of how continuing to report on this would probably piss O'Hara off, but it didn't matter because this story needed to be told.  

And, he told himself, brave reporters tended to be honored.  With that, he briefly imagined receiving rewards, like a promotion, a raise, winning lots of awards at different conferences, or maybe even one of the big ones. Then, going over Peter's warning, he felt his shoulders grow tense as he went over the bad things that could happen, like firing or being blacklisted, or whatever else O'Hara might come up with.  And, looking at the expectant expressions the other three wore, he shuddered while repeating himself that he did not want to be a martyr. 

Then, he thought back to that book by those two Watergate reporters.  And, though his professor had talked about how famous they had become, she had emphasized that, by exposing the truth, they had represented the public while serving their country.  And, with that, he knew what he would do. 

Holding out his right hand, he said, "Then, I guess that will be the price I have to pay for doing this."

Shaking it, she said, "Thank you.  That said, there's one more person you should meet before we continue."

Letting go, he heard footsteps to his left. Turning his head, he saw a fourth Spider-Man walk out from where the other three had come from, though he hadn't noticed him before.  In fact, it was almost like he had materialized out of thin air—though that was ridiculous, he told himself.  He was probably just that good at hiding.  

The new Spider-Man came within a few feet of him and stopped before studying him intently, while he had looked at him closely.  He wore a black super suit and mask, with red stripes going down its sides and a red spider symbol spray painted on his chest.  Yet, he looked very familiar.  Just them, it hit him: He was the one O'Hara had been assaulting on the train!

Right after that, the Spider-Man shook his hand while saying, "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Brock.  You can call me Shadow Spider." 

Chapter Text

That had marked the start of a period in Eddie's life when the days had seemed really long while the weeks and months had flown by.  There had been all the times when he had shown up at work before the sun rose and left close to midnight, along with when he had been the only person working on a Saturday night or Sunday morning.  As well, he had lost count of how often he had been walking through the newsroom holding a mug of coffee while noticing his coworkers just staring at him. 

At one point, he had stopped and looked at them before saying, "What's up?"

One of them - Clark, he thought - had said, "Nothing.  We were talking about what we did last weekend, and I was telling them about the movie that me and Lois saw.  What were you up to?"

Taking a deep breath, Eddie had said, "Getting here before sunrise, locating and interviewing sources, and trying to write another story.  Speaking of which, I've got work to do."

A few minutes later, he'd finally set up an interview with a second former Spider Society agent who had agreed to go on record to confirm Shadow Spider's account of the day that O'Hara and his followers had chased him.  And, with it completed a couple of hours later, he had typed it out and submitted it.  

The next morning, it had been on the front page, after which the Spider Society spokeswoman had said, "As most of us know, The Daily Bugle had yet another report on the Spider-Man who was being chased by the Chief Defender and the rest of the Spider Society, even though we had already explained what happened.  We are flattered by that newspaper's interest in our training methods and techniques, and we encourage Eddie Brock and anyone else who wishes to learn more about this to visit our museum, which has a new exhibit that covers chase simulations in detail." 

He and Jameson had talked about it afterwards and had concluded it was a non-denial denial, and that apparently O'Hara or someone else was clearly bothered by Eddie's reporting.  And, he had encouraged him to continue, while advising him to make sure he always got two sources to back up a claim for reporting it, unless it was public records, such as IRS tax forms.  

Telling Shadow Spider, Ghost Spider, and Spider Punk about the non-denial denial at night, though, the three had all given each other knowing looks, before the punk had given him a web watch like theirs and told him to use it to communicate with them, and to also keep it on him at all times.

It had come in handy, especially when he had needed to meet with them a couple of weeks later to confirm what he had learned about the Spider Society's training programs.  He had explained what he had found out - it had involved them being taught all about something called the "canon," obstacle courses and advanced web swinging among other things, and generally being up until well past midnight while getting up just a few hours later - and Ghost Spider had confirmed it.  

Just then, Shadow Spider, who had been a few steps away while holding a plastic grocery bag, had moved forward so he was next to the Spider-Woman.  Reaching into it a moment later, he had pulled out a silver disc with what looked like a couple of tiny cameras on one side and eight legs on the other.  Feeling both curious and troubled, Eddie had looked at it for a long moment before asking what it was. 

In response, Ghost Spider had said, "It's known as a spider bot, and Spider Society agents use it to spy on targets.  We found it just outside your apartment earlier today."

Now shaken up, he had thanked them before going to Jameson the next day and explaining what his contacts had found.  Soon after, they found a couple in the newsroom, after which they had run an article on it.  The following morning's non-denial denial had featured O'Hara's spokeswoman saying that a rogue agent had acted without authorization, that he had been terminated, and that the Chief Defender expressed his apologies.

Of course, Brock had grown a bit paranoid as a result, as he had soon come to check his apartment and the newsroom for more of these on a regular basis.  He hadn't found any, but both Ghost Spider and Shadow Spider had assured him that O'Hara was definitely keeping a close eye on him.  

And, this had been driven home in the weeks and months after when Eddie had felt like he was being followed and watched.  Though he had never seen anyone, there had been a few times he had sworn he had heard a soft "thwipping" sound from somewhere in the distance.  

Still, he had felt tense, and had hated it.  But, Jameson had reminded himself that this meant he was getting somewhere with his articles, and that he needed to continue.  This, in turn, had been reinforced for him the next time he had met with his anonymous sources.  Then, the two main ones - Ghost and Shadow, he had taken to calling them - had brought a friend of theirs who looked like a teenage girl, only she glowed blue.  After telling him to call her "Spider Byte" and explaining that she was a holographic avatar of a girl who was elsewhere, she had told him that she had worked on the Spider Society's computer system and knew it as well as anyone, after which she had explained how it worked in detail, and that everything - its records, its training protocol, its finances, and like - was stored using a chatbot called LYLA.  And, though she had refused to be directly quoted while emphasizing she would only add context to what others said about it, she had given him contact information for several technicians who had come in from time to time and who could confirm what she told him. 

Soon after, he had met with each of them, while furiously taking notes as they had explained the whole system in more detail—and thanking each one when they agreed to go on record.  The articles he had written as a result had sparked a heated series of non-denial denials from various spokespeople with the Spider Society—along with The Nueva York Times reporting that most of the city's news media outlets were bugged with spider bots, while The Nueva York Post had run a front page article proving that they were all transmitting signals to LYLA.

In response to this, O'Hara himself had come out during the following day's press conference and had explained that the Spider Society had been working with Nueva York's city government to improve surveillance, that they had selected those locations for testing, and that they had since removed them and were sorry for the inconvenience.  At that, the rest of the city's newspapers, along with its television and radio stations, had immediately pivoted to covering this, while it had quickly become a major scandal that engulfed the mayor's office.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the New York State Attorney General's office had held a press release stating that they were formally requesting access to LYLA's records.  And, a couple of days later, with stories about this and the spider bot network regularly appearing on the front pages of Nueva York's newspapers, the Spider Society had agreed to release written transcripts and summaries of the chatbot's information.  

And, it had been explosive, with details on how the Spider Society had been spying on Nueva York's press outlets for years serving as the lead story for multiple newspapers and TV news stations for the next week, along with several city officials resigning because of the role they had played with this. 

However, as Eddie had been working on another article on this, he had gotten a notification from the AP that the New York State Office of Special Investigations had identified a number of gaps in the written information that had been provided.  Attending their press conference later that day, he had sat listening while their spokesperson had discussed this in detail, how the written information had been arranged to make it hard to notice what was missing, and that they would be filing a lawsuit to gain access to all of LYLA's records.  

The story he had written about that had once again made The Daily Bugle's front page the next morning, while the spokesperson for the Spider Society had angrily stated that afternoon that what the state government was seeking was confidential, and that they looked forward to seeing them in court.

Meeting with Ghost and Shadow that evening, Eddie had explained all of this, at which the two of them had exchanged a look before telling him to come back the next evening, and that they would bring someone who could talk about this in more detail.  He had, while the other two had brought the middle-aged Spider-Man with them.  After telling him to call him "Spider Dad," he had explained that, even though he had merely advised O'Hara, he had also known that there were a number of accountants with the organization, a few of whom were unhappy and who might be willing to talk to him.  

Thanking him for the tip, he had told Jameson about it the next morning.  But, after conceding that it might be worth looking into, his editor had said, "Let's hold off on that now for a while, and see if there's any sort of a connection between O'Hara and the city government."

Eddie had investigated that, and, after spending a lot of time looking at both the FEC's website and that of the New York State Board of Elections, he had discovered a lot of payments from a large corporation called Alchemax that had been donated to the reelection campaigns for numerous Nueva York politicians, along with state legislators, both of New York's senators, and four Congressional Representatives representing Nueva York.  

Uncertain what to make of this or why it mattered - that company made a lot of consumer products, and they also lobbied Congress pretty heavily - he had then gotten in touch with Ghost and Shadow and asked to meet.  They had agreed, while bringing Spider Dad along with them.  He had listened to what Eddie had learned, before telling him that he was on the right track and that he needed to try and find if there was a connection between this organization and the Spider Society.  Feeling frustrated, he had pointedly asked the middle-aged Spider-Man why he couldn't simply give a clear answer.

In response, Spider Dad had said, "I'd like to, only I have a family and Miguel knows where I live.  So, I'm just going to stick with giving hints, and answering yes and no questions."

Feeling a bit shaken up and once again wondering what he had gotten into, Eddie thanked him before continuing to look. 

The following morning, though, Brock and the others had watched an ABC News special report about how the New York Court of Appeals had ordered the Spider Society to release copies of LYLA's records to the state, with a spokesperson for O'Hara saying that they would comply.  Returning to his desk, he had breathed a sigh of relief while figuring that this would make his job a little easier. 

However, a couple of days later, the New York State Attorney General's office had issued a press release stating that there were still gaps in the information that the Spider Society had provided, and that they would be filing an appeal with the United States Supreme Court to compel it to release all of the information they had requested.  

In the meantime, he had been reaching out to the Spider Society's accountants.  But, in spite of what spider dad had said, each of the ones he had gotten in touch with had refused to discuss this matter, even off the record.  Finally, though, he had gotten hold of one who had agreed to be interviewed off the record, while insisting on meeting in a park where there was no surveillance equipment.  There, he had explained that, even though Alchemax was publicly-traded, a majority of its shares were owned by a shadowy figure whose identity was known only to a few senior executives.  However, he had suggested talking to a man named Tyler Stone, whom he had said had once been one of its vice presidents before being ousted following a power struggle. 

Following up on that, he had gotten in touch with Stone, who had agreed to meet with him.  But, though he had gone on and on about how angry he was that he was no longer with the company, he had refused to identify the person who had forced him out.  However, he had said that he had tax records for Alchemax for every year up until he had left, and he had agreed to give copies of them to Eddie. 

Thanking him, the reporter had spent the next few days studying them in detail alongside The Daily Bugle's chief accountant, who had explained that a majority of the company shares were owned by several shell organizations, that a fair amount of its funds were being diverted to the Spider Society, that the organization was using a series of creative accounting tricks to hide this, and that they were also using it to make it look like they were losing money every year, while significantly reducing their tax bill.  And, after investigating that for a couple of days, they had discovered that they were all run by the Chief Defender himself.   

Now feeling like he was on to something, Eddie had then interviewed the Spider Society accountant he had talked to earlier to get more context, while promising to solely use his answers as background information.  Then, he had proceeded to write a series of articles on this, detailing everything from the power struggle to how Alchemax was essentially bankrolling the Spider Society, while enabling him to eliminate the company's tax bill most years. 

The first article had landed like a thunderclap, with the Spider Society's main spokesperson giving an eloquent non-denial denial.  And, after the second one, both the IRS and the New York Department of Taxation and Finance had announced that they were opening investigations into Alchemax significantly underpaying its tax bill for quite a few years.  

Meanwhile, The Nueva York Times had come out with a series of articles on how Alchemax had been regularly donating to politicians, and that many of those had been authorized by O'Hara himself, all while knowingly violating campaign finance laws.  As well, The Washington Post had reported that the New York's two U.S. senators and the four Nueva York Congressional Representatives who had accepted these donations had introduced or modified bills having to do with activities that the Spider Society was involved with, while the Nueva York Daily News had reported a similar thing with New York state legislators and Nueva York city politicians.  And, the result had been the passage of a number of laws that had made life easier for the Spider Society.

By the time Eddie's third article on Alchemax's finances had come out, the AP and Reuters were both reporting this nationwide, while ABC, CBS, and NBC had stories on this everyday, and even both the BBC and AFP had started picking it up.  As well, the late night comics had all started cracking jokes about Miguel O'Hara's creative accounting, while Saturday Night Live had come out with a hilarious parody of one of the Spider Society's press conferences, in which the spokesperson gave multiple non-denial denials, before the actor playing the Chief Defender had come out and proceeded to use lots of words to say nothing.

And, when Brock had met with Ghost and Shadow and shown it to them, they had both laughed hard, though he had noticed her leaning on him while he had his left arm around her shoulders.  Later on, they had been holding hands while talking to him.  And, he had felt happy for them, since it looked like their relationship had healed.

The day the fourth one had been published, the Chief Defender himself had come out to give remarks, in an attempt to quiet the growing controversy.  After praising the press for its tireless efforts at exposing the truth, he had announced that, for the first time ever, he was going to allow representatives from the news media to tour Spider HQ.  Eddie had received one of the invitations, and at the stated time he had shown up along with others.

And, it had been impressive.  The building had been enormous, with a large central area filled with beams that went at different angles which different spider people would walk or swing along.  There had also been a lot of training equipment, along with restaurants in dining Halls, areas for storing supplies, and private rooms for agents who had lived at Spider HQ, as well as a large room with a big pit that had a large cylinder in the middle and a smaller circle above it.  However, he had wondered why there were so many agents, along with why they each wore web watches. 

He had reported on his visit afterwards, while leaving his questions unstated, after which he had continued his series on Alchemax's finances.

Right after The Daily Bugle had published his fifth article on that topic, though, there had been some genuinely troubling news.  Fox News reporter Charlie Kane had written an article claiming that the Spider Society had been imprisoning city residents, and it had attracted a lot of attention.  However, unlike the typical non-denial denials that the organization's spokespeople usually issued, their response this time had been savage and merciless, with the spokeswoman saying that it was a lie and that the organization respected citizens' civil rights.

Right after that, O'Hara himself had declared unequivocally, "We have never done that and never will, and we promise that Fox News will be hearing from our lawyers to address this libel that they have published."

Hearing that, Eddie and the others in attendance had given each other nervous looks.  And, by the time he had published his seventh and final article in the Alchemax finance series, Kane had lost his job and had been blacklisted, so that no other publication in Nueva York would hire him.  

Feeling genuinely worried, he and Jameson had met with Executive Editor Stan Lee to discuss it.  But, though Brock had wondered if it was time to back off a bit, Lee had said, "Don't worry about it.  They may say we're dirty while going on about how shocked they are that we would report something like that, but unless they say it's inaccurate or wrong, we have nothing to worry about."

A couple of days later, Ghost Spider, Spider Punk, and Spider Dad had all made clear to him that it was villains from other universes who were thrown in cages, with Spider Byte emphasizing that they were generally sent back to their home Earths within a day or two.  

Baffled by this, Eddie had looked at them for a long moment before asking what was up with that.  In response, Ghost had explained the Multiverse to him in brief, including what it was, how they traveled to different Earths, and what they did on each one, along with the Spider Society's view on what it called canon and anomalies, and how every other spider person there actually came from a different Earth.  Eddie had still been confused, until Spider Dad had explained that it was essentially like traveling to a bunch of different worlds in Star Trek or Star Wars.  Now feeling like he understood, Eddie had made a note of it while getting information from them on former agents to contact who were willing to go on record when talking about this. 

He had, and his next series - on the Multiverse, the canon, canon events, anomalies, the Original Anomaly, web watches, and where all the Spider-Men and -Women were from - had attracted even more attention, along with the usual Spider Society non-denial denials.  The wire services and major networks had also reported on it, while the late night comics had thoroughly mocked O'Hara and what the Spider Society was doing, with the actor portraying the Chief Defender as coming across like a fascist Captain Kirk.  In the meantime, public opinion on that organization had turned negative; between all the money it was spending on creating a superteam of spider people, its really nice facilities, its multiversal shenanigans, and all the city, state, and federal politicians who had resigned and were now facing criminal charges because of donations from Alchemax, a lot of people were wondering what the so-called "Chief Defender" was really up to.

A couple of days after that, Shadow Spider had told him that it was not always bad guys who were imprisoned, before telling him about the time that it had happened to him.  Eddie had been greatly surprised, but had managed to interview a couple of former agents who confirmed that, after which he had written an article about it, and how it related to the initial chase and O'Hara's beliefs in the canon.  And, this time, while the Spider Society had resorted to issuing yet another non-denial denial, the State Attorney General's office had released a statement saying that they were opening a probe to see if criminal charges were warranted in response to this reported incident.

The day after, the United States Supreme Court ordered the Spider Society to release all of LYLA's records to the state of New York.  And, this time, it had, after which the state had continued its investigation into the Spider Society, while The Daily Bugle and other media outlets had continued reporting on that organization.  In the meantime, the state government had regularly issued press releases on their findings, all of which confirmed what Eddie and others have been reporting.  And, once they had released the last one, the United States Department of Justice had announced that they were opening an investigation into the Spider Society's activities.

By then, it had become clear that O'Hara's organization was under a very large microscope, and that things would be very rough for it for the next few years.

Chapter Text

After that had come what Eddie now recognized as the turning point: The Journal.

He remembered clearly the moment he had first learned about it.  He had been sitting with Ghost Spider, Spider Punk, and Shadow Spider at a busy all-night coffee shop in underground Nueva York.  And, though it had been weird sitting with them while they were in civilian clothes - she still had that side cut, the punk rocker had big hair and seemed to turn gray or pink depending on his mood, and the other guy now had braids in his hair - it had been nicer than the parking garage they normally met at.  As they had drunk their coffee and talked, it had felt to him like the investigation was winding down, and that this would probably be one of the last times he would ever meet them.  

In the meantime, they had shared some of their stories about dealing with bad guys.  Spider Punk's tales of dealing with fascists on his home Earth had been particularly entertaining, while Shadow Spider's story of dealing with a supervillain who had lost because of having a close encounter with butter had been hilarious.  And, Ghost Spider had talked about her latest fight with some supervillain with metal tentacles.  

Meanwhile, he shared some of the highlights of his recent articles.  And, their ears perked up as he told them about how the politicians the Spider Society had been donating heavily to were about to go on trial, that it was being audited by the IRS while also facing a heavy fine, and that the State Attorney General's office was still investigating whether or not it had committed crimes.  Then, he told them that he had just won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, after which they all congratulated him. 

As he took another drink of his coffee while Spider Punk started talking about dealing with a street gang on his Earth, he smiled while thinking about how this long and hard investigation was not too far from ending, and that he was looking forward to finally getting to take a vacation.   

Just then, though, they all stopped talking, so he idly glanced at Ghost Spider.  With her hands resting on the table, she was looking down and frowning like she was thinking about something.  Right after that, Shadow Spider pulled his left hand out from under it and held her right one, before squeezing it gently, while quietly saying, "I believe in you."

A moment later, she looked at Eddie and said, "So you know, a former Spider Society agent kept a journal while she was there, and she made sure to include a lot of details about what it was like."

Spider Punk looked at her for a long moment before saying, "That is true, because I saw it myself."

At that, Eddie felt mildly frustrated.  It had been a long and hard 2 years, yet it looked like the never-ending story wasn't quite done yet.  On the other hand, taking in her earnest expression, he reminded himself of how much she and the others had helped, and that she wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't important.  

So, looking at her, he said, "Interesting.  Any idea what might be in it?"

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Information on how new agents were trained, what happened to anomalies, weekly meetings that Miguel had with all the members, and other things about what life was like in the Spider Society.  On top of that, it included details on its conspiracy theory about the 'Original Anomaly,' along with how it brainwashed that member."

Feeling both confused and disturbed, Eddie had stared at her for a long moment before stating, "Brainwashed? You mean like what cults do?"

She had said so, and then he had mentally gone over this.  And, in spite of everything that had come out - all the people facing prison time because of O'Hara's misdeeds, the ongoing investigations, and the Spider Society's likely hefty tax bill - this seemed different.  In fact, if that organization really was a cult, then it might well put a whole new spin on its activities.  Or, maybe not.  Regardless, he would need to tread carefully. 

Noticing the other three looking at him, he had then said, "You've always told me the truth, Ghost Spider, and I trust you.  That said, this journal you're talking about seems like kind of a big deal.  So, if you don't mind my asking, how do you know it exists?"

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Because I wrote it."

Now shocked, he said, "Really?!"

She nodded and said, "Although I was regularly worn out because of always being short on sleep there, I made entries in it most days which included quite a bit about my life there, including all the training sessions, lessons that LYLA gave to me, weekly mass meetings that Miguel had with all of us, all the work they had me do, how I was constantly sleep deprived, and how they manipulated me so that I betrayed Mi– my boyfriend.  And, I'm pretty sure that other former agents could confirm what I wrote."

He had acknowledged it while promising to look into it.  And, after he got home that evening, he had started thinking about how to do it.  Yeah, it definitely existed - at least, assuming that O'Hara or Drew hadn't thrown it out - but he would need to get proof of that, after which he would need to verify everything Ghost spider had written in it.  

So, over the next few weeks, he had gotten in touch with a number of his contacts with the Spider Society, as part of this investigation.  Unfortunately, though, each of them had made clear that they didn't know anything about this notebook, let alone what might have happened to it.   

In the meantime, he had also interviewed former members and asked about the things that she had alleged, and they had each told him how they had all regularly put in 18 to 20 hour days there while being really short on sleep, and how they had all been fired up to catch anomalies and that the 'Original Anomaly' was the root of all evil, and how O'Hara had tricked them into thinking that there was something to his 'canon event' belief system.  As each of them had explained separately, they had all experienced at least some of the negative events that the leader had claimed happened to all spider people, so his lies had seemed a lot more believable.  Not only that, but most of them had emphasized that seeing the Spider Society's videos and presentations on it had given them panic attacks or flashbacks, though they had also ended up firmly convinced that their boss was right and always had been. 

And, Eddie had written several articles about this, while other news outlets had followed up on it.  Of course, each of them had resulted in getting the same types of non-denial denials as before, though polling made clear that public opinion about the Spider Society had become even more negative than before, with late night comics cracking jokes about it using slave labor, and SNL having a memorable skit portraying Spider Society as a stereotypical Southern plantation, with O'Hara as the boss.  And, eventually, The Nueva York Times had reported that people from across the entire Northeastern United States were contacting their senators and representatives to demand that the Department of Justice start looking into what the news was reporting on this.

However, after his fifth story on this, O'Hara himself had given a press conference to address this.  And, after taking a deep breath, he had said, "I take the welfare of my agents very seriously, and I care about each of them, so these allegations that The Daily Bugle is making have shaken me to my very core.  I've had a lot of long nights because of this, while Ms. Drew and I have met with hundreds of our agents, to see if they would consider their training and continuing education to be thought reform or indoctrination, or their work to be glorified slavery.  And, each of them has strenuously denied it, while making clear that they felt like what they had learned had given them a much better understanding of our mission and what we stand for."

Pausing for a moment, he had said, "Now, I understand that a lot of people are upset about this.  And, if I were in their position, I would feel the same way.  However, one thing they need to bear in mind is that each person who has accused us of brainwashing them was fired because their performance did not meet expectations, and that they were upset about being let go.  I get it, since it's traumatic to lose your job, and I don't blame them for feeling the way they do.  But, I'm pretty sure that this is influencing what they tell Mr. Brock and other journalists who are writing these stories."

Looking at Eddie for a long moment, he had then said, "The Daily Bugle is free to report on us in the manner that it wishes, but I ask that its editing staff and reporters bear this in mind if they choose to write future stories about this."

Afterwards, he and Jameson had met to discuss this.  And, though they had quickly concluded that this was another of O'Hara's non-denial denials, they also admitted that he had been persuasive.  So, they had agreed to hold off on conducting further interviews with other former members until they got some sort of written proof about what had been alleged.  

In the meantime, public opinion shifted again over the next few days, with many people now saying that these stories were likely nothing more than allegations made by disgruntled former operatives and needed to be treated as such.  And, a few nights later, Ghost Spider had been clearly distraught as he told her about it and where things currently stood.  Shadow Spider had then given her a hug, while she had wept bitter tears. 

Eventually letting go while holding her boyfriend's left hand, she looked at Eddie and said, "My journal was a 2.5 cm-thick notebook with a blue cover that had a spiral at the top, and if it's still there either Jess or Miguel would probably have it."

Acknowledging this, Brock had promised he would continue looking into it, while assuring her that he wanted to get to the bottom of things.  But, after he had returned home, he had admitted that uncovering written proof such as this journal would be the equivalent of trying to find a needle in a haystack.

The next day, though, things had changed. 

He had been walking to the subway station while mentally going over what he would be doing today, to try and get past this dead end, when a man in a blue janitor's uniform came up to him and introduced himself. 

Shaking his hand, Eddie had listened as the guy had told him he was a janitor with the Spider Society, and that, while cleaning Education Director Drew's office a couple of weeks ago, he had seen a notebook in a safe whose door had been left open, and that it looked identical to what Ghost Spider had described.  Right after that, Ms. Drew had walked in and quickly closed it before staring at him, though he had played dumb.  But between that, the stories that The Daily Bugle had been running, and the Chief Defender's recent statement, he had been troubled, so he had decided to tell him about it.

Feeling excited, Eddie had thanked him while getting names and contact information for a few former custodial staff members whom the man swore knew more about it.  And, after arriving at work, he had managed to set up interviews with each of them. 

Meeting the first one a few hours later and getting permission to record their interview, he had asked about it, with the man saying, "On September 12th, 2099, I was assigned to clean former Agent Stacy's quarters with a couple of other people, while the boss lady was supervising us.  She stepped out for a minute, and then I found a 2.5 cm-thick notebook with a blue cover and a spiral at the top in one of that operative's desk drawers.  Each of us was curious about what it was, so we looked inside it and quickly realized that it was some sort of journal that she had been keeping.  And, in spite of how it felt wrong to look at it, it was also really interesting, since she went over in detail what the other spider people there experienced, which we'd all been curious about.  However, the boss lady then came back, grabbed it, and sternly told us that we shouldn't look at things that didn't belong to us.  We all apologized and played dumb, and it kind of blew over, though our supervisor told us a couple of weeks later that the Chief Defender wanted us to find different jobs, which we did."

Feeling even more excited, especially after the custodian had said he was willing to go on record, he had gotten his name.  The others whom he interviewed over the next few days confirmed it while giving permission to be named, so, a couple of days later, he had written an article about it.  Accompanying it had come an editorial Jameson had written calling for the Spider Society to release 'the Journal.' 

The next day's non-denial denial had been noteworthy, even by Spider Society standards.  Glowering at Eddie throughout the press conference, O'Hara had emphatically stated that he was offended that The Daily Bugle was trying to pry into the private records of a former Spider Society agent, while Drew had made clear that this was highly confidential and that he and his newspaper needed to drop it or they might find themselves on the business end of a lawsuit.  

However, the New York State Attorney General's office had issued a news release stating that they were formally requesting that the Spider Society surrender the Journal to them.  O'Hara had refused, so they had sued.  And, a few weeks later, a judge had ordered them to release it, while making clear that the state government was forbidden from publicly releasing it until such time as the investigation was complete.  However, he had also said that, because of public interest, they were allowed to release a summary of it.  

That had happened a few weeks later, and Eddie had remembered feeling stunned while listening to the Attorney General office's press secretary give some of the highlights of what was in it, including that agent being overworked, severely sleep deprived, and indoctrinated, how O'Hara and Drew had gotten her to cut her father and a boy she loved out of her life based on a conspiracy theory, and how they had been working on getting her to avoid having anything to do with a good friend of hers.  They had then said that details and more information could be found in the packets that they would be giving out shortly. 

Thankfully, they had answered his questions - the Journal was a notebook with a blue cover that had a spiral at the top, it had been in a safe in Ms. Drew's office, and they were opening an investigation to see if the Spider Society had violated child labor laws, since the agent in question had been a minor at the time - after which they had given him and the other reporters the promised written information.  It had been a fascinating read, and it had played a key part in the lengthy article he had written afterwards about the press conference.   

In the meantime, that event and news coverage around it had touched off a firestorm of controversy, as public opinion swung decisively against the Spider Society, while the New York State Attorney General's office and the United States Department of Justice had announced they were opening criminal investigations based on what was in the Journal.  And, it had been clear to him and the others at The Daily Bugle that things were about to get a lot worse for Miguel O'Hara, Jessica Drew, and the other bigwigs of that organization.

Meeting with Ghost Spider and Shadow Spider that evening, he had told them about all that, after which she had profusely thanked him.

A moment later, she had said, "I know it might be hard, but would you see if you can get hold of it, so you can return it to me?  If need be, I can get an exact copy of it made and get that to you, but I really want it back."

Although he had agreed that what she was asking for was reasonable, he had warned her that it would be hard and that that reason alone probably would not be good enough for the New York state government.  

Then, remembering those two Watergate reporters, he had said, "I just had an idea: What if I were to write a book about this when everything is all said and done?  I'm sure that they would willingly get the Journal to me if I requested it for that purpose."

Looking him in the eyes, she said, "If you do and you get it to me, I'll give you permission to use it for your research.  Just please don't look in it until we get you the copy."

Shaking her left hand, he had agreed. 

Chapter Text

The state and federal investigations into the Spider Society had continued after that, and had eventually resulted in its bigwigs getting indicted, being put on trial, and getting sent to prison—including O'Hara himself.

Meanwhile, as Eddie once again reminded himself, this story had literally made his career.  Whereas he had been a lowly city reporter five years ago, he had now won his second Pulitzer prize and had received a book deal, while two movie studios were in a bidding war for the film rights to it.  Not only that, but ABC, CBS, and NBC were interested in hiring him, complete with larger salaries and a promise of a few months off to write his book.  Of course, The Daily Bugle had responded by offering him a significant raise and a chance to be a founding member of the new investigative reporting team they were working on setting up, along with six months of paid leave to work on his book.  He wasn't sure what he would do - they all looked good - but he figured he had time to decide.

However, though it was really nice that his career had taken off, by far the best part of this had been the knowledge that, by getting to the bottom of what was up with the Spider Society, he had served his country while representing the public.  Truly, he reminded himself, while this story had been the hardest task he had ever done, it had been worth it.

His thoughts were interrupted by someone clearing their throat next to him.  Looking up, he saw a woman with brown hair in a black shirt and slacks holding a brown package that was about the size and shape of a notebook.  

Right after that, she said, "This came for you today, Mr. Brock."

Nodding, he took it while saying, "Thank you, Ms. Brant."

Setting it in front of him, he opened it and then spent a minute just looking at it.  It was an ordinary notebook with a blue cover that looked something like the kind he had used in college, only the spiral was at the top rather than the side.  Meanwhile, it looked like most of the pages had been written on.  

On the other hand, it wasn't just any piece of stationary: It was the Journal itself!  Yeah, it had taken The Daily Bugle filing a Freedom of Information Act request to get it from the New York state government so that he could use it for his book, but he had it. 

Though he was briefly tempted to start reading it, he remembered his promise to Ghost Spider.  So, opening his desk and taking out his web watch, he took it and the journal to an empty conference room.  Closing the door, he went to its contacts list, selected her, and pressed "Call."

A moment later, she answered.  As usual, she was in her super suit, though she wasn't wearing her mask while she had lowered her hood.  She also had her side cut and was smiling. 

Showing her the Journal, he said, "I just got this today."

Squealing with delight, she said, "Awesome! And, great!"

"Also, per our deal I have not looked into it.  When will you and Shadow Spider be by?"

"My fiance and I will be by tomorrow at 10 pm, in the usual place.  We'll get the copy of it to you the night after, and no one will be able to tell the difference."

He said, "Will do.  But, one question: Fiance?"

Taking off her right glove, she held up her hand.  And, on her third finger was a silver ring with a sapphire.  

Then, wearing a broad smile, she said, "Shadow Spider asked me to marry him last night, and I said yes."

Smiling, Eddie said, "Congratulations, and I'm happy for both of you.  Also, thank you for everything you did to help."

She said, "No problem. And, thank you for what you did, and for getting my journal back to me."

Ending the call, he returned to his desk and set the book in his top left desk drawer before closing it, while reminding himself that he would get to read it once they got him the copy.  In the meantime, he had other things to do. 

With that, he opened the file for the next article he was working on and began reading it.  

Sitting at his desk three days later, Eddie took out the copy of the Journal for his desk drawer.  It was identical to what he had given Ghost Spider two nights ago, only it looked like there were some loose pieces of paper in the back that he hadn't noticed before. 

Then, glancing at the clock, he reminded himself that with his article for tomorrow's paper done, he had a couple of hours he could use to read it.  At that, he smiled while remembering Jameson telling him it was okay to read it for an hour or two every day, and to please consider their contract extension.  Granted, it would probably take him a few days to get through the whole thing, but that was all right, since he was getting paid to read.

At that, he opened the front cover and read the note that she had added: 

Eddie Brock,

I give you information to read through this and to take notes for your upcoming book.  Thanks again for everything. 

Ghost Spider 

But, instead of going to the first page, he took a moment to study her handwriting.  It looked like printing rather than cursive, and was quite legible and pleasing to look at, almost to the point of being elegant.  Glancing at some notes he had taken earlier today, he frowned at how what he had written looked like a series of chicken scratches in comparison to hers.  And, he really needed to up his game.  

Taking a deep breath while reminding himself that it wasn't a competition and that he had plenty of time to get better, he turned it to the first page and began reading.